Age-Friendly Newsletters

Recently the Tri-State Summit on Aging brought leaders from Age-Friendly initiatives together to learn from each other and from experts working on issues like housing, transportation, technology and health care. Four members of our local planning team attended: Allen and Jackie Cressy, Kay Larson, and Nancy Davis; Al and Nancy were part of a panel discussion on Outreach. We learned a lot and were cheered by the acclaim Bethel, Greenwood, Newry and Woodstock have become as a model for regional planning.Transportation Task Force. Last fall our community members indicated the livability factors that were important to them, and we are developing an Action Plan in response to that data. The Transportation Task Force is formulating plans for improving service to our local communities through Western Maine Transportation and the Sunday River Stagecoach Shuttle Services. The new survey provides detailed data, so we hope you’ll fill one out, even if you completed a different version last month. Surveys may be picked up at the Bethel and Woodstock Town Offices and libraries, the Western Mountains Senior College, and the Bethel Family Health Center; Greenwood and Newry will be mailing theirs. Or you may contact Allen Cressy (ajcressy@megalink.net, 824-0508).Fraud Alerts. Have you visited our Age-Friendly Community display at the Bethel Library? It’s just a beginning, but there are some fine materials for the taking. One is a pamphlet, “AARP Watchdog Alert Handbook.” One of the cautions it notes is “the grandparent scam” described here in an earlier volume. It happens that in the past few days one of our community members was a too-smart, but potential victim of this very scheme.The pamphlet also lists suggestions on how to protect your Social Security Number and personal information: “Don’t carry your Social Security card in your wallet. Don’t print your SSN or driver’s license number on your checks. Shred sensitive information. Limit the number of credit cards you carry. Keep copies of credit cards (front and back) in a safe place in case a card is lost or stolen.”As a matter of fact, I recently had a call from my credit card company about possible fraudulent activity. It was a relatively small amount of money, and my credit card had not been lost or stolen, but it was still important to cancel and destroy that credit card. They advise not using a credit card at the gas pump, which may have been how it was swiped (out of town). And the first fraudulent transaction (and tip-off that it wasn’t mine)? A senior dating service!FMI: Nancy Davis (nancydavis.bethel@gmail.com, 381-1110)